With all the craziness on this board the past few hours I thought I'd share a story that happened at my job yesterday that will make Sox fans smile..

We recently hired a new accountant for our team. She just moved to Chicago from Boston in November. We are planning a Bulls outing next month. We took her out to lunch and Friday and started talking sports. She is looking forward to the Bulls game and of course..started talking about going to the Cubs this summer. But here is what surprised me..

We also talked about the Sox and she said she wanted to go and said word for word "I hear they have a beautiful ballpark..":smile:

This is the first time..and I mean THE FIRST TIME..in 15 years of the Cell I have hear an out of towner say something like that. Don't get me wrong..I have taken people to games and AFTERWARD they have said "that's a nice park..etc.)...but I cannot remember someone who has never been there saying they HEARD it's a beautiful park.

To me..just the fact that a 23 year old who just moved here from Boston thinks the Sox have a nice park without having been there shows that the 'ballmall' and other negative images of our park are fading. I am not making a big deal of this..but if you think of the criticism Comiskey had as recently as 2001..2002 it shows how much things have really changed.

Anyone else heard similar things from out of towners..non-Chicagoans recently commenting on the Cell? I'd like to know..

Fake Chet Lemon

12-23-2006, 10:31 PM

Anyone else heard similar things from out of towners..non-Chicagoans recently commenting on the Cell? I'd like to know..

I was listening to a Milwaukee radio station last winter. Fans in Milwaukee were calling up and asking for a remake of Miller Field. A couple of the fans mentioned how nice The Cell looked during the World Series. They wanted a walkway in the outfield like the Cell and they mentioned a few other things I don't remember. The host also agreed and he said the Cell looked beautiful and he intended to visit in 2006.

I was equally stunned. Good to hear the truth is getting out, finally.

RadioheadRocks

12-24-2006, 12:01 AM

With all the retrofitting and upgrades, the Cell certainly has come a long way and the 2005 Series was the perfect showcase. One thing they need to take care of during the offseason is either clean up or replace some of those blue signs around the parking lots, some of those are looking mighty sad (big-time rusted-out posts and a couple of the signs have lettering that's no longer readable).

DSpivack

12-24-2006, 02:48 AM

I still find it amazing that USCF is among the very few stadiums with open concourses. It makes a huge difference in making a park look better, make the atmosphere more exciting, and to me make it feel less like a mall and more like an enclosed environment. To go up an aisle, get something to eat, and to be able to look out on the whole stadium is quite an intimate feeling.

wassagstdu

12-24-2006, 08:01 AM

I always thought New Comiskey was a beautiful, enjoyable baseball park, and frankly I don't think the changes have improved it. If the rest of the country is now recognizing the Cell for the superb park it is, maybe it was the exposure during the WS rather than the changes that made the difference. There was a lot of silliness about the Cell earlier that had to change if people actually saw the park. It was and is far better than Camden Yards, which (non-fans) raved about while New Comiskey was being trashed.

OzzieShrugged

12-24-2006, 08:15 AM

I always thought New Comiskey was a beautiful, enjoyable baseball park, and frankly I don't think the changes have improved it. If the rest of the country is now recognizing the Cell for the superb park it is, maybe it was the exposure during the WS rather than the changes that made the difference.

I agree. There's something to be said for clean lines of sight, and guiltless use of modern architectural technology. The giddy, vertiginous climb to the top of the upper deck.

There was a lot of silliness about the Cell earlier that had to change if people actually saw the park. It was and is far better than Camden Yards, which (non-fans) raved about while New Comiskey was being trashed.

Aw, c'mon, Th'Cell would be a far better park if it butted up against, say, the Merchandise Mart... with a 230 foot right field...

Realist

12-24-2006, 12:14 PM

I agree. There's something to be said for clean lines of sight, and guiltless use of modern architectural technology. The giddy, vertiginous climb to the top of the upper deck.

Aw, c'mon, Th'Cell would be a far better park if it butted up against, say, the Merchandise Mart... with a 230 foot right field...

I just gotta say that I LOVE your nom de guerre and welcome aboard. :smile:

Oblong

12-24-2006, 12:19 PM

When I was there in 2004 I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't know about the renovations. I just "knew" it was supposed to be a bad stadium. I didn't know what the problem was. I really liked the outside. It was quite a contrast because we went to Soldier Field the next day to see Manchester United and I couldn't get passed that "thing" that landed on top of it. On the way there I told my English friends that the football stadium was supposed to be nice and the baseball stadium was supposed to be bad. After the games they thought I was a liar.

RadioheadRocks

12-24-2006, 08:27 PM

I always thought New Comiskey was a beautiful, enjoyable baseball park, and frankly I don't think the changes have improved it. If the rest of the country is now recognizing the Cell for the superb park it is, maybe it was the exposure during the WS rather than the changes that made the difference. There was a lot of silliness about the Cell earlier that had to change if people actually saw the park. It was and is far better than Camden Yards, which (non-fans) raved about while New Comiskey was being trashed.

I'm one of those who feel the changes have been a definite improvement and really don't feel any of the earlier complaints amounted to silliness. Getting rid of those top eight rows in the upper deck was certainly a smart move, and lots of other changes (the fan deck, the murals of the players with retired numbers on the outfield walls, the bullpen sports bar, replacing the plain blue seats with dark green seats, replacing much of the generic blue signs throughout the park with newer signs highlighting Sox logos throughout the years, etc.) really helped transform the park from a sterile venue with all the charm of the food court at the mall to one of the most fantastic ballparks anywhere.

I want Mags back

12-24-2006, 10:55 PM

With all the craziness on this board the past few hours I thought I'd share a story that happened at my job yesterday that will make Sox fans smile..

We recently hired a new accountant for our team. She just moved to Chicago from Boston in November. We are planning a Bulls outing next month. We took her out to lunch and Friday and started talking sports. She is looking forward to the Bulls game and of course..started talking about going to the Cubs this summer. But here is what surprised me..

We also talked about the Sox and she said she wanted to go and said word for word "I hear they have a beautiful ballpark..":smile:

This is the first time..and I mean THE FIRST TIME..in 15 years of the Cell I have hear an out of towner say something like that. Don't get me wrong..I have taken people to games and AFTERWARD they have said "that's a nice park..etc.)...but I cannot remember someone who has never been there saying they HEARD it's a beautiful park.

To me..just the fact that a 23 year old who just moved here from Boston thinks the Sox have a nice park without having been there shows that the 'ballmall' and other negative images of our park are fading. I am not making a big deal of this..but if you think of the criticism Comiskey had as recently as 2001..2002 it shows how much things have really changed.

Anyone else heard similar things from out of towners..non-Chicagoans recently commenting on the Cell? I'd like to know..

anything is a nice ballpark compared to Fenway

SoxandtheCityTee

12-25-2006, 12:29 PM

I still find it amazing that USCF is among the very few stadiums with open concourses. It makes a huge difference in making a park look better, make the atmosphere more exciting, and to me make it feel less like a mall and more like an enclosed environment. To go up an aisle, get something to eat, and to be able to look out on the whole stadium is quite an intimate feeling.

I too love the concourse, and it's been there since the day the park opened, so I tend to agree that the change in perception isn't just about the relatively minor changes in the past few years.

By the way, the concourse goes from being extemely enjoyable to just about indispensable when you take small children to the game, if you are seated in the lower bowl. I think it's one reason you see so many kids at the Cell.

TomBradley72

12-25-2006, 01:10 PM

I think it is a beautiful ballpark NOW...but from 1991 to a few years ago it was only better than domes or generic "multipurpose" stadiums. The renovation of the upper deck, the fan deck in center, the fundamentals area, the scout seating area, some brick touches, the green seats and a World Series banner have made it one of the better parks in MLB.

Take a look at some photos/videos from the pre-renovation era...it was incredibly bland and sterile with zero connection to the franchise's history or traditions.

batmanZoSo

12-25-2006, 01:27 PM

I think it is a beautiful ballpark NOW...but from 1991 to a few years ago it was only better than domes or generic "multipurpose" stadiums. The renovation of the upper deck, the fan deck in center, the fundamentals area, the scout seating area, some brick touches, the green seats and a World Series banner have made it one of the better parks in MLB.

Take a look at some photos/videos from the pre-renovation era...it was incredibly bland and sterile with zero connection to the franchise's history or traditions.

The seats and the roof make it a fantastic looking park. I personally like the symmetry, which makes it stand out among the crop of newer parks, and I think over time that will become more appreciated across the country. And winning World Series games in it adds to the mystique--look at Yankee Stadium.

Fake Chet Lemon

12-25-2006, 09:42 PM

Anyone else heard similar things from out of towners..non-Chicagoans recently commenting on the Cell? I'd like to know..

Reading is a skill, judging from most of the posts.

BackInBlack

12-26-2006, 03:19 AM

I've heard of a few out-of-towners comment on the quality of food at Comiskey.

BTW, I'm a pretty big fan of everything they've done to the stadium since its inception in the early 1990s. Comiskey seems to be one of the ballparks where the owners (JR) actually care about the fans' preferences. That's what keeps me coming back (that and the awesome product on the field). Either way, I never thought I'd say this, but I've actually started feeling good/proud about taking out-of-towners/friends/family/clients/etc (such as myself, stationed in NYC) to Comiskey when I'm back in Sweet Home Chicago.

Gregory Pratt

12-26-2006, 12:45 PM

I don't think it's a beautiful park. A nice park, but not beautiful, and I'd prefer many to it.

I don't think it's a beautiful park. A nice park, but not beautiful, and I'd prefer many to it.

I think it is beautiful, but I understand your viewpoint. I've been to Coors Field and Coors makes ALOT of parks look like crap in comparison. I'm gonna take a tour of PETCO next week so I'm very excited to see what that place is like.

DumpJerry

12-26-2006, 10:50 PM

Come on, she's from an American League city. Most PBP announcers compliment ballparks when they are on the road.